“DON’T JUST DEMO…DONATE ASWELL”..Lets Get TfL Into Court….by Jim Thomas

The STaN agenda gave London the concept of licence variation ‘Satellite office’. Along with this, came a cloak of respectability thrown over the clipboard Johnny and the illegal ranks of touting minicabs.

It didn’t take long before the rule book went out the window and open touting became the norm at most night venues.

Licenses were sold off like sweets to anyone with the necessary fist full of dollars.

Licensed by TfL, the general public believed the lines of cars outside clubs and bars were legitimate, after all, even the press were referring to them as Taxis…so they must be legal. The legitimate licensed Taxi trade started to see a massive decline in night work.

The Met officer in charge of the TOCU squad Joe Royal, took one look at the legislation and said this is completely unenforceable and promptly resigned.

Not long after Joe’s departure, the TOCU squad were disbanded.

Most night men carried on regardless, driving round with their head in the sand, hoping for the odd raised hand.

A couple of dozen militant drivers stepped forward shouting, “Enough’s Enough” and took on the touts at their own game, by ranking in front of, or beside the cars… and work was eventually clawed back.

It wasn’t hard at first as night passengers had become fed up with being ripped off by exorbitant prices, charge by the touts. The subject of touting became elevated in the trade media.

We just turned up and formed ranks….we were taking the work back, it was easy!

The invent of the smart phone, saw drivers using social media apps like Twitter and FaceBook which the group utilised as a better way to communicate. They even gave themselves the name, the Twitter Action Group (TaG). With the trade reenergised, the TaG hit squad encouraged night-men to start reusing ranks. And it was easy

Last January, the work dried up as a result of 700 new PH licenses being issued every week.

But, ever resourceful, drivers stepped up to the mark and the Mayfair Mobs was born. This new group had amazing success reclaiming ranks and getting new ones implemented.

The trade seemed to be struggling like never before, drivers drastically changed their modus operandi, ranking becoming their new cornerstone …. it was still easy, but getting harder.

Towards the end of the year, easy stopped….Work levels were down to an all time low.

It’s sole destroying sitting on a rank outside a restaurant to see customers exit, phone in hand, waiting in the wind and rain for a car to pull up. These people, having spent a small fortune on dinner, were now deserting the trade big time, looking to save £5 off a ride home.

Surge pricing, accounts hacked, ridiculously round about routs, an increase in sexual attack on females and now mass murder by Uber’s drivers are not impacting on their business model.

Our trade has been seriously damaged to a point where carrying on regardless, is no longer an option.

As long ago as 2013, Taxi Leaks warned “Men are coming to kill us”.

In 2015 we shouted from the rooftops, “Men are here killing us”.

Now in the last chance saloon, we only have one final option before we are killed off completely…but so far, only 2,710 have pledged and put their money were their mouths are.

Unless this trade takes TfL to court, we will soon be an ex-trade like the miners, the printers, the steel workers the dockers.

Killed off by complacency and apathy.

The solution has been handed to you on a plate. And again, it’s not hard…ITS EASY.

You don’t have to do the hard work,

THATS BEING DONE FOR YOU.

All you need to do is put your hand in your pocket and come up with £25 a head.

But time is running out fast.

The Government, TfL and Uber are laughing at us. They believe we are too stupid to save our future, they truely believe the campaign is doomed to failure and they’re laughing.

Let’s wipe the smug smiles off their faces.

We are two thirds of the way through time allotted and have only raised one third of what’s needed.

No more thinking about this, it’s time to act.

10,000 Taxis in Whitehall had no impact, no media coverage. This Wednesday, instead of giving up your afternoon work, 10,000 Taxis should donate £40 each….result = TfL in court.

Now that’s an impact!

What could be simpler?

Our future, our livelihood is solely in our hands and we no longer have the luxury of time.

Pledge your support now, don’t put it off any longer and let’s get TfL in court to answer for what they’ve done to our trade, our livelihood.